


Day 25- Freebie (Smells)

by Broken_Clover



Series: Autistic Creative Challenge 2019 [25]
Category: BlazBlue
Genre: Alternate Universe - Happy, Autism Spectrum, Autistic Creative Challenge, Family, Growing Up, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Stuffed Toys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2020-02-04 12:03:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18604159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Broken_Clover/pseuds/Broken_Clover
Summary: On academy graduation day, Noel packs a box of six toys.





	Day 25- Freebie (Smells)

**Author's Note:**

> This is a happy AU where everything is less awful please just let me have this

Graduation day had finally come to a close, and Noel gladly retreated to her dorms to escape the hustle and bustle. Of course it was a special day, for her and for all of her friends, but after a full day of talking and socializing, Noel was long passed being burned out, and she needed time to let herself cool down and just be by herself.

The dorm was half-dismantled when she returned. She, Tsubaki, and Makoto all had a lot of packing to do before they moved out, and the ship to Kagutsuchi was heading out first thing in the morning, so none of them had very much time left to put away everything. 

It was going to be strange to be stationed out somewhere else. Torifune had been her home for such a long time now, and Noel wasn’t really sure if she was ready for so many changes all at once. At least both of her partners had been stationed in the same place. It was relieving to think that she’d still have that bit of familiarity, and since they’d all decided to share an apartment together, Noel would always be able to see them at the end of the day.

She could still feel Bolverk’s pull on her thoughts, keeping her emotions in line and helping her stay relatively composed. She left her guns on the desk and sprawled out on her bed, pressing her face into the pillows and letting out a deep sigh.

Noel was _exhausted._

When she found the energy to move, she rolled onto her side and grabbed a teddy bear that was slumped against her sheets. The soft fur was comforting to the touch, and as she wrapped her arms around the toy, the smell of mint and lavender filled her nose. It was a gift from Tsubaki, in an attempt to help her girlfriend with her anxiety. In addition to the soothing smells, it was also weighted, which helped Noel ground herself and have something to focus on when she was nearing a panic attack.

Scents were nice. Noel liked using them to remind her of places. The smells that soothed her now always made her think of Tsubaki. Every time she was upset and clung onto her bear, it reminded her of one of her favorite people in the world.

_”Whenever you feel upset, just focus on that, alright? Just take deep breaths. You’re going to be just fine. I’ll help you the best I can.”_

Maybe that would be a good place to start on packing. She grabbed a small box off of the floor and gently placed the stuffed animal in it. After taking one last whiff of mint and lavender, Noel moved over to grab another toy that tended to stay on her bed.

It was a stuffed squirrel, another gift, handmade by Makoto. The seams were a little wonky, and it tended to flop over from the lack of stuffing to support it, but the material was nice to the touch, and the sachet sewn inside of it released the smell of walnuts. After hearing about how worried Noel tended to get when she was away for long periods of time, Makoto had made the plushie as something to keep her company while she was away. Now the scent of walnuts always made her think of her girlfriend’s bright smile, boundless confidence, and kindness. 

_“So you’ll always have someone looking after you, okay, Noellie?”_

She tucked the squirrel away beside her teddy bear.

Recalling a sudden memory, Noel pulled open the drawer on her nightstand. A little red backpack clip was nestled in between forgotten hair-ties and other little accessories. It looked and smelled like watermelon, though the scent was just slightly faded. She’d won it at a festival game alongside the rest of Team Remix Heart. It was little more than a consolation prize, but she kept it for the sentiment of spending time with her friends.

_”C’mon, Noellie, you’ve got this!”_

_“You’re going to stress her out, Makoto, calm down.”_

_“Don’t be such a buzzkill, Kajun, it’s a festival!”_

_“Not you too, Mai! Honestly…”_

She wasn’t sure how often she was going to see any of them now. Kajun had gone back to Sector Seven, and Mai had left the academy early, without any sort of mention of where she was headed or why. 

Before her emotions could well up, Noel put it away and moved on.

The one she pulled off of the dresser was the most recent, only unwrapped yesterday. It was a special present from her beloved big brother, a big chubby bunny doll that smelled like vanilla. Ranga had traveled out so he could see her graduate, and he’d passed over a shiny wrapped package that he’d claimed was supposed to be a housewarming gift for their new quarters once all three of them moved out. They weren’t sure how often they’d be able to see each other, but Ragna promised to keep in touch even if they were both busy.

_”I’m really proud of you, kiddo. You know that, right?”_

Noel gave it a tight hug, felt the smile come back to her face, and put the rabbit in the box.

With the memory of Ragna still vivid, she pushed aside her slaved-over study papers until she found a little pink blob lying on her desk. She hadn’t ever actually played a Kirby game before, but she could still admire how absolutely adorable the creature was, especially in the form of a strawberry-scented squishy.

She was pretty sure Jin hadn’t, either, but that hadn’t been the important part. It was meant to be an object of reconciliation, a small token given alongside one of the first conversations Noel had found herself in with him in over two years.

They’d always been estranged, but aside from knowing that the impressive major Kisaragi had let his position, he might as well have vanished off of the face of the planet. Noel wasn’t sure if she was worried or secretly relieved, but after being sent a sent an odd letter from Yamatsumi in his handwriting, she’d arrived to find that he’d checked himself into a psychological facility almost a year ago, trying to address his issues instead of masking them with brusqueness and anger. She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting. There was a definite softness to him that there hadn’t been before, but Jin was quick to mention that even after he planned to live independently again, he was still going to be taking regular therapy sessions. He wasn’t suddenly perfect, but Noel could tell that he had been trying incredibly hard. 

When the nurse arrived to let them know that visiting hours were almost over, Jin had passed her the little figure, and given her hand a light squeeze.

_“I want to get better, Noel. I’m going to make myself better. For all three of us.”_

As much bad blood as they’d seemed to have, Noel really did want them to be a family again. As soon as she could, she wanted to visit him again.

The last toy she grabbed was distinct in not only being the oldest, but also the only one to have no intentional smell to it. It was a little doll, modeled after the Torifune Pandas that lived around the city. Edgar and Claire had given it to her shortly after her adoption, as a sign of their love and acceptance of her. It matched the tiny size of the real pandas, small enough that Noel could put it in her uniform pocket and gently pet it whenever she needed something to calm herself down. While it was supposed to be just a simple toy, it had managed to cling onto the lingering scents of home- the furniture cleaner her mother liked to use, with just a bit of her dad’s cologne. It was weird now, to stay in contact with her birth siblings and her adopted family at the same time, but they had loved her unconditionally, and in Noel’s mind, they were just as much her parents as anyone could be.

The little box was almost full. Noel held it close, taking in all the scents all at once, flooding her mind with memories of all the people she loved. Once she was sure she’d had enough, she folded the cardboard ears down and reached for the packing tape.

Maybe moving wouldn’t be so bad after all. Hopefully her new home would bring more special memories for Noel to cherish.


End file.
